Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 55 One thing brings down another thing

Border Region Arsenal

Upon hearing that the 386th Brigade had delivered sugar, Zhang Wanhe immediately rushed to the arsenal, found Li Muzhi, and excitedly asked, "Li Muzhi, the 386th Brigade has delivered sugar?"

The Hell Cannon can't function without shells, and we have plenty of fertilizer; all we're missing is sugar.

Logistics Minister Zhang Wanhe dreamed every night that all he could find was white sugar.

"Yes, it was delivered, over seventy jin..." Li Muzhi nodded and pointed, "Look, I'm already rushing to fry the explosives."

"How much? Only seventy-odd jin?" Zhang Wanhe's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but say, "Wasn't it supposed to be a thousand jin?"

Seventy-odd pounds of white sugar is far too little.

His 386th Brigade is now armed with two hell-dead cannons. With such powerful tools at their disposal, they can't afford to slack off on the delicate work.

“Minister Zhang, the three-day deadline hasn’t passed yet,” Li Muzhi said with a smile. “We should trust the capabilities of the 386th Brigade. Maybe they’ll finish the rest of the sugar soon…”

Before Li Muzhi could finish speaking, the brigade commander's cheerful voice rang out from outside: "Li Muzhi, I've brought you the sugar, over 3,200 jin. Come out and get it quickly!"

Li Muzhi and Zhang Wanhe were both stunned when they heard the brigade commander's voice.

Li Muzhi hadn't expected that the 386th Brigade would send over 3,000 jin of white sugar; that was truly impressive.

If there are really that many, then we could make thousands of shells for this Hell Cannon!
Eleven hell cannons, each capable of firing nearly a hundred rounds on average—that's an impressive number.

This means the Japanese troops in northwestern Shanxi are going to suffer greatly.

Of course, not all of this sugar can be used to make shells for the Hell Cannon. Rockets and conventional shells still need to be made, especially rockets, which are indispensable.

In this way, more than three thousand catties of white sugar doesn't seem like much anymore.

Zhang Wanhe was also shocked. He had just been complaining that the 386th Brigade had sent too little sugar, only seventy-odd kilograms.

Who could have predicted that this slap in the face would come so quickly?

In the blink of an eye, they delivered more than 3,000 jin (1,500 kg).

That's three times the usual number!

"Hey Brigade Commander Chen, your subordinate Li Yunlong loves to brag. You didn't pick up that habit yourself, did you?" Zhang Wanhe couldn't help but tease Li Muzhi as they left, unable to believe it.

"Old Zhang, how can you talk like that? Whether I'm bragging or not, you can come out and see for yourself." The brigade commander was in high spirits and wasn't angry with Zhang Wanhe.

According to this rule, with over three thousand catties of white sugar delivered, we can get three more hell cannons, hehe.

Li Muzhi and Zhang Wanhe came out and saw that the brigade commander had indeed brought a large amount of white sugar.

The two quickly verified that it really weighed over 3,200 jin.

Zhang Wanhe grinned from ear to ear, as if he hadn't been teasing the brigade commander at all: "Your 386th Brigade is really awesome. Giving you two hell cannons was definitely the wisest decision my logistics department made."

The brigade commander glanced at Zhang Wanhe, too lazy to even look down on him.

This cannon was clearly given to us by Li Muzhi, so what does it have to do with you, the logistics minister? And yet you're praising yourself.

Even Li Yunlong doesn't have the same thick skin as you, Lao Zhang.

Li Muzhi smiled at the brigade commander and said, "Brigade Commander Chen truly lives up to his reputation as a dragon among men. His skills are extraordinary from the very first move. He can handle more than three thousand catties of white sugar with ease. He is truly a hero."

The brigade commander was quite pleased with Li Muzhi's praise. He glanced at Zhang Wanhe as if to say, "Old Zhang, did you hear that? That's what you should be saying. Learn from Li Muzhi in the future." The brigade commander smiled and humbly replied to Li Muzhi, "Li Muzhi, we won't say anything fancy. Your arsenal manufactures weapons, and our combat troops use those weapons to fight the Japanese. We complement each other; neither of us can do without the other."

Immediately afterward, the brigade commander got straight to the point: "According to your logistics rules, one thousand catties of white sugar can get you one Hell Cannon. I brought back more than three thousand catties. Consider this change a free gift. Now I can get three more Hell Cannons, right?"

Before Li Muzhi could speak, Zhang Wanhe jumped up and said, "Hey Brigade Commander Chen, aren't you being a bit too greedy? There are eleven cannons in total, and your brigade wants to take six of them. That's not fair!"

The first and second Hellfire cannons are now in the hands of your 386th Brigade.

The third Hell Cannon will be taken from headquarters; the fourth cannon is reserved by your 386th Brigade.

Now, three thousand catties of white sugar have been exchanged for three cannons, making a total of six.

Zhang Wanhe genuinely felt that Li Muzhi's rule was problematic, given that the 386th Brigade had taken more than half of the artillery at once.

Faced with Zhang Wanhe's attitude, the brigade commander had an expression that said, "I knew you, Old Zhang, were going to jump up in anger."

The brigade commander completely ignored Zhang Wanhe, smiling as he looked at Li Muzhi, waiting for Li Muzhi's reply.

“That’s right, Commander Chen. The rules I set are, of course, not to be changed,” Li Muzhi said seriously. “Once the cannons are finished, you can send someone to collect them.”

The brigade commander immediately beamed and said to Zhang Wanhe, "Old Zhang, look at this, listen to this. You, the logistics minister, really need to learn from this young man. It's better to be more open-minded."

Zhang Wanhe ignored the brigade commander and turned to Li Muzhi, saying, "I think there's a loophole in your rule. If a brigade takes away six cannons, headquarters definitely won't agree."

Li Muzhi did not answer Zhang Wanhe, but pointed behind the brigade commander.

Another Eighth Route Army soldier was riding quickly towards them.

Zhang Wanhe looked at this person and immediately adopted a solemn expression.

This person was none other than Lao Lü, the special envoy of the 129th Division, representing Commander Liu, the superior of Brigade Commander Chen.

Zhang Wanhe immediately stopped thinking that Li Muzhi's rule was flawed; on the contrary, he thought it was very reasonable.

By exchanging supplies for artillery, the logistics sector was indeed significantly improved. The 386th Brigade brought a considerable amount of important raw materials and funds to the logistics department, which was of great significance to the arsenal.

As for the 386th Brigade being able to carry six cannons, that is indeed a testament to their skill.

Whether the 386th Brigade can save its six cannons, and whether Brigade Commander Chen's thin arm can outmaneuver his division commander's special envoy, is not a matter for our logistics to consider.

When the brigade commander saw that his division commander's special envoy had arrived, he quickly greeted him: "Old Lü, what brings you here?"

"Hehe." Old Lu dismounted with a smile and walked up to the brigade commander. "The division commander heard that you personally delivered more than 3,000 catties of white sugar to the arsenal, so he asked me to come and take a look."

"I welcome your guidance at any time, Division Commander," the brigade commander readily agreed, thinking to himself, "This special envoy, Old Lu, is really timely."

We probably can't be bothered with those cannons in the back.

"Yes, you did a very good job. You've worked hard. Go back and rest." Old Lu said to the brigade commander with a smile.

"Old Lu, I have three thousand catties of white sugar..." The brigade commander was about to say something.

Old Lu interrupted, "I know, the division commander said I'll do the rest of the work for you. It's late, you should go back and rest."

"Alright." What could the brigade commander do? Rank matters, so he could only hand over the data for the last shell to Li Muzhi and then return with his guards.

Seeing this, Zhang Wanhe thought to himself, "This is truly a case of one thing subduing another."

(End of this chapter)